FutureLearn partners with Public Health England to make global health education more easily available to an international audience

The new partnership, announced at the Genesis 2018 conference today, will combine PHE’s recognised expertise in global health protection and FutureLearn’s leading social learning platform to teach people across the world lessons that could save lives.

Professor Nigel Silman, Senior Business Development Manager at PHE, said: “I am very excited by this opportunity. Our education and training courses are available in face-to-face learning environments, and this will continue, but the digital platform offered by FutureLearn will enable many more people to access training to support the vital health protection work they do across the globe.”

FutureLearn will now host PHE’s public health sector and microbiology courses online; building upon their extensive healthcare portfolio, which includes content from Health Education England and the NHS Leadership Academy.

The news of FutureLearn’s partnership with PHE follows other significant milestones for their healthcare portfolio, which include the NHS Leadership Academy partnering with the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons to develop the ‘Edward Jenner Leadership for Veterinary Professionals’ programme, and The King’s Fund launching The NHS Explained: How the Health System in England Really Works, which provides a detailed understanding of the NHS — its inner workings, current and future challenges, and how it all fits together.

Helen Fuller, Global Healthcare Lead at FutureLearn, said: “FutureLearn exists to transform access to education on a global scale and we are delighted to be bringing the important work of PHE to a global audience.

“PHE has an unrivalled reputation in the field of health protection, and with the challenges facing all healthcare systems, the partnership will have global impact.”

About FutureLearn: A leading social learning platform formed in December 2012 by The Open University. It is now the largest online learning platform in Europe with almost eight million people signed up worldwide. FutureLearn uses design, technology and partnerships to create enjoyable, credible and flexible online courses and postgraduate degrees that improve working lives. It partners with over a quarter of the world’s top universities, as well as organisations such as Accenture, the British Council, CIPD, Raspberry Pi and the New York Institute of Finance.

About Public Health England: PHE exists to protect and improve the nation’s health and wellbeing and reduce health inequalities. It does this through advocacy, partnerships, world-class science, knowledge and intelligence, and the delivery of specialist public health services. PHE is an operationally autonomous executive agency of the Department of Health.